The invention relates to tackle boxes that are used by fishermen to store their fishing gear or tackle, such as fishing lures, leaders and lines, especially tackle boxes that are used by deep sea fishermen who generally use a number of different gauge leader lines during a morning or afternoon of fishing, contrary to other fishermen who fish smaller lakes or streams for a particular type of fish.
Fishing tackle boxes, presently on the market, are poorly equipped to make readily available to fishermen, a number of different leader lines or fishing lines which are normally wound or reeled on spools that are stored at one end of the tackle box, or scattered throughout the box, where the loose ends of the lines, hanging from the spools, become tangled with other fishing gear.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,169 makes a vain attempt to solve this problem by the provision of a separate space in which two spools of fishing line are stored on their sides. The lines extend from the spools through adjacent openings in the tackle box, so that they are readily available to a fisherman without opening the box. It can be appreciated from a study of this patent, that the structure for storing the spools of fishing line is impractical and severely limits the number of spools which can be accommodated in the tackle box, unless the box is of gigantic proportions, or the lines are allowed to protrude from all four sides of the box. This patent also discloses a tackle box which utilizes a transparent lid and sides through which tackle, in the box, is easily observed.
Existing tackle boxes are also poorly equipped to help fishermen replace or put new fishing line on the reels of their fishing rods. Moreover, they provide no help to a struggling fishermen attempting to measure a fish to determine if its within the legal limit. The invention is specifically designed to help overcome the aforementioned problems which, at certain times, become insurmountable.
Briefly stated, the invention is in a fishing tackle box which, when horizontally disposed, is comprised of two portions, a larger bottom portion and a top portion which acts as a lid or cover for the bottom portion that has opposing sidewalls, endwalls, and a connecting bottom wall which form a compartment in which fishing tackle is stored. The top portion is hinged to the bottom portion and comprises opposing sides, ends and top which form a tray that is divided into bins which are covered by a transparent lid which is hinged to the top portion. Means are provided in the compartment, adjacent one of the sidewalls, for storing a number of spools of different gauge fishing or leader line in individual housings which are separated from each other and in which the spools are free to rotate about generally the same axis. The spools are mounted in side-by-side, axially aligned relationship, and the free loose ends of the lines extend through aligned openings in the housings and adjacent sidewall of the tackle box. Means are supplied exteriorly of the tackle box, adjacent the openings, for cutting the leader lines when a sufficient amount of line has been unreeled from one of the spools. A flexible, spring-biased measuring tape is provided in the top portion and is extensible therefrom, for measuring the length of a fish, the top portion acting as an abutment from which the fish is measured, when the tackle box is closed. A pivot pin on which a spool of fishing line is freely rotatable, is pivotally mounted within the compartment for rotation from a first position within the compartment to a second position where the pin extends vertically out of the compartment above the bottom portion, when the tackle box is open. The separate bins of the top portion have a bottom lining of soft, hook penetratable material to stabilize the positions of the hooks and lures within the top portion of the tackle box.
Thus, the tackle box of the invention provides the advantages, of, a number of readily available leader lines which can be quickly unreeled and cut, an easy-to-get-at pin on which a spool of fishing line can be placed for unreeling onto the reel of a fishing rod, a quick and easy measuring scale for ascertaining the length of a fish, and a special top lid portion in which lures and leader lines with hooks can be stored without fear of them becoming entangled with each other.